RIP Neville – by Marica

Neville had a good but short life but as of Tue 20/09, NRMA is writing him off. Thanks to the guys on the trip I have had the time and the ribbing to deal with the grief and losing one thing I always wanted and finally (8.5 years ago) had the courage to go and get!!!

The damage that I did to Neville was rather extensive:

-        the wheel was NOT 90 degrees to the handle bars – Sandra and I pushed and pulled until it was close enough to ride

-        all of the panels on the front and LHS was damaged

-        the cover on the headlight was gouged so that I it would not be safe to ride at night

-        the cover to the LHS front indicator shattered, BUT the indicator still worked so Sandra and I duct-taped it into place

-         the front panel was pushed and twisted about an inch off centre and the handle was pushed onto the centre panel, so the handles didn’t like to be turned – gotta love the fact bikes can bank to take turns

-        I apparently sheared off the exhaust – this was why it sounded like a Harley wannabe. Sam the Scooter Repairman in Perth said that if the bike had backfired, it, in all likelihood, could have caught fire

-        Glove box could not close – duct-tape to the rescue

-        Front wheel cover was just hanging there – I had sheared all of the screws/connectors

Oh, and damaged all of my motorcycle gear and my foot where the bike fell and slid on it at 100km/hour

BUT, Neville STILL kept going. He travelled the 4000 km left of our scenic trip to Perth. Ok.... he could not get up to 110 often and he didn’t like getting over that!!!!, and his fuel consumption was up 20% more than it should have been.... But... broken, he just kept going!!!

On the last leg of the Wall to Wall ride, from EPIC to the Police Memorial Wall, Neville joined the rest of the guys from WA, and No, he did not collapse into a pile of nuts, bolts and scrap metal and the end of the trip! My Neville was amazing!!! I wrote a note and stuck it on the Neville’s windscreen for this last leg. It said:

At EPIC, there were displays from motorcycle retailers and groups associated with Police. Nico from Motorini also had a display, close to the front stage. I consider it a gift from him. He displayed his vintage Vespa and a red GST250ie, like Neville. There was a message from Nico congratulating me and our (Neville and my) achievement.

So, Neville is no more, and I am still sad about that. I will be buying a new Vespa as soon as one is available. It will never replace Neville, but I am in awe of what Vespa’s can take and still keep going. I will look at the option for getting a motorbike for touring – Neville in his hay-day, would not have been able to keep up with the guys from Perth. I am not saying that they were travelling fast.... but Neville could easily do the speed limit (pre-incident)

Neville: - reliable and just keeps going. I will miss him and now the guys on the ride with us will no longer tease and torment him, not my choices. Neville will always be so special to me!

 Late breaking news: looks like I might be buying a another Vespa later this week. Nico from Motorini just told me that I can  buy Derek’s Vespa. Derek is an amazing 92 year old who buys a new top of the line Vespa every year and sells his “Old” one. Derek goes on long rides and is amazing. And.... wait for it... the Vespa is red!!!!